Food, Fiber, Friends - Episode 120 - The Knitmore Girls

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This week's episode has been sponsored by:

Abstract Fiber has a back to school special! Our Jasmine makes the very clever and pretty Flatbox Knitting bags to help pay for her college expenses. It’s time to buy books, so she’s offering a limited time special 10% discount on her bags when you buy them from AbstractFiber.com Check out AbstractFiber.com for a store near you or shop online and receive free shipping on orders over $100.


Everything's coming up Cassidy at Purlescence Yarns! Join us for our fabulous fall Cassidy Knit-Along, featuring Chic Knit's wonderful cabled cardigan pattern. We're loving this piece knit in Manos Rittenhouse Merino 5-Ply, Cascade Venezia & Eco Wool, Lorna's Laces Green Line Worsted & Shepherd Worsted, to name but a few. Mention the Knitmore Girls when you place your order for 10% off your yarn purchase for the KAL through the end of October. And don't forget, Amy Singer is coming November 2 to teach her Non-Wool Socks Class. Seats in this class are limited, so sign up early!



Take your knitting skills to new levels with instruction from the country’s top knit designers at STITCHES ETC on November 1 and 2. Work one-on-one with Isager, Mondragon, Bortner, Duvekot, Slicer-Smith, Brown-Reinsel, and Bush. Learn to build on classic designs, master one-yarn intarsia, and enter the world of entrelac…plus much, much more! This 2-day experience begins immediately following STITCHES EAST Knitting Expo at the Marriott Hartford Downtown and Connecticut Convention Center. STITCHES EAST Knitting Expo is October 28 through 31. Easy registration for STITCHES ETC and STITCHES EAST Knitting Expo classes are available online at knittinguniverse.com.

Discount codes for the Cables and Lace KAL (10/4-10/8):

Cassidy- knitmorecassidy
Cece- knitmorecece

Show notes for this week's episode will be delayed.

Japan Women's Open - Mika Miyazato Breaks Through

She's the "other" Miyazato. Less famous... for the time-being... than current World Number 1.

Mika Miyazato grabbed her first professional title yesterday, by winning the prestigious Japan Women's Open by six strokes.

This maiden maiden victory on the JLPGA must certainly have been sweet for Mikan, considering what happened a year ago.  At the same 2009 event Miyazato entered the final round with a four-shot lead... just as she did yesterday, but late in the round the proverbial "wheels fell off", ultimately resulting in a disappointing T6 finish.

This year however the girl from Okinawa wasn't about to let history repeat itself... or at least that's how it seemed when she fired three consecutive birdies in the middle of the back nine... effectively removing all doubt that this was her year.

It was an impressive win, brought to my attention by The Constructivist whose blog, Mostly Harmless, has long been my top independent source of up-to-the-minute information on women's professional golf... and is without a doubt the definitive English language blog covering the Asian women's golf tours.

In the wake of 2010 The Ryder Cup... which reinforced the idea of golf as an increasingly global game... it's great to know there are excellent sources for news and information on golf in places that are now producing some of the world's best players.

And in the interest of fun, flirty and fashionable, check out this awesome mash-up of the past weekend's action at the Japan Women's Open.

FAVORITE ARTISTS

On facebook I posted some of my favorite artists "...who have influenced you and will always stick with you." That's a tough job! I invited others to do the same.

This was my list:

Gary Baseman
Monte Beauchamp
Benjamin Gudel
Maurice Sendak
Tom Friedman
Bansky
Gary Panter
Chuck Close
Grant Wood
Seth
Blu
Wayne Thiebaud
Grotesk
Charles Adams
Roy Lichtenstein
Mark Ryden
Eric White
Clayton Brothers
Jules Feiffer
Mercer Mayor
Edward Hopper
Norman Rockwell
Henri Roussaeau
Philip Guston

Then my friend posted this:

"Jeebus. Are these all men??!! Seriously? C'mon, lady!" Oops! How could I do this? Don't I LOVE any female artists? Apparently not many. I came up with ONE to add: Marjane Satrapi - Now mind you I'm not adding photographers and all of that, when I say "artists" I'm just doing illustrators and painters and that sort of thing. I can't get into photography and all of that or the list will be a mile long. The "rule" was supposed to be "Fifteen" and I already broke that.

anyway, my question to you all is this: Do I just like the type of art that is done primarily by men or are the trendsetters mostly men? Are the edgy/comic-booky type people mostly men? What is the deal here? I did add some old classic folk like Hopper, Guston, and Wood... but still, all men. I don't WANT all of my favorites to be all men! I don't WANT to be sexist! But I guess I like who I like. I've heard people mention before that the Caldecot winners are rarely women. Does this hold true here too? Do women just suck? Ooh, yeah, I said it!!!

... but I didn't mean it.

meghan

STUDIOS!!

I want to know what your studio looks like. Please show me! And can I please collect it and put it on my website? Every time I flip through an artist book or magazine I stop at the studio part and get mesmerized by it. I figure, why not collect a whole bunch to look at all of the time? Maybe other people are like me and will want to look at my collection. So please help me to make this work!

thanks
meghan

Ryder Cup Rain & Golf at the Commonwealth Games

Europe has been looking quite dominant at Celtic Manor since play resumed earlier today under a precarious double rainbow.

However, with the tournament set to spill into Monday, the outcome is far from decided.  The Monday finish... and controversy regarding tickets...  once again provided a Bethpage flashback.  It's inherently difficult to administrate weather issues at events this big.

But for now Westwood is trending and the dowdiness of "Captain CoMo" is dissipating, as the European team puts away foursomes and fourballs. ~ However on our side at the moment, Rickie Fowler is being brilliant... as he often will be... and he's giving US fans something to cheer tweet about. @nouses, "Rickie Fowler, you are ridiculous. Eagle on 11, fighting back."

Watching the #rydercup time-line flow past on Twitter is uniquely entertaining;  it's an unlikely juxtaposition of subtlty and vitriol,  as in:  @FannyIngabout, "I quite fancy Graham McDowell. #thereivesaidit" and @JojoDonovan, "Shut it blubber Watson!!!! See Westwood's celebration for tips to celebrate with dignity"

And so it goes.  It's a huge event and the international rivalry aspect is perfectly presented in the live global forum that is Twitter ~ But there's another massive sporting event trending right now.

The Commonwealth Games begin today, and what happens there... in Delhi, India... will have more impact on the future of international sports competitions... including golf tournaments... than many seem to realize. 

India's ability to pull off these games has been called into question repeatedly during the lead-up to today's opening ceremonies.  As recently a couple of weeks ago some were whispering that the country might just not be ready.  The allegations of corruption and the evidence of shoddy construction many wonder if the infrastructure improvements needed for something so massive this were too ambitious.  On the other hand most agree that if this does work well, it'll provide a huge boost for all sports and potential sporting events, in one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies.

Golf won't be part of the Commonwealth Games this year, although it might be in the future.  It seems the golf simulator in the athletes village has become hugely popular among sportsmen and women of all nationalities event those who've never played the game.  So much so that it's being written... and tweeted... about quite profusely. Which I think is kind of awesome.

Now, getting back to the Ryder Cup tweets, lets see...  @AbGatorade, "This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion" ... @Smithkyle4, "Europe will surrender at some point, as per tradition" 

Alrighty then,  I'm off to play nine at Richter Park.  Catch up with you later.

Photos: Getty Images

"Mashed Potato" and Other Acceptable Golf Shouts

Despite excessive sogginess,  the crowds on day one of the 2010 Ryder Cup held it together admirably.

As darkness fell on the saturated Celtic Manor course, fans filed out via muddy footpaths, dodging massive puddles.  Those with a flair for the dramatic called it a disaster. ~ However, watching the rain-delayed event from here on the east coast of the US, I was reminded... quite vividly... of the summer of 2009, when I spent a waterlogged week at the US Open at Bethpage Black.  The meteorological conditions seemed remarkably similar,  though I'd guess it's quite a bit colder in Wales right now than it was on Long Island that steamy week in June.

Yes it was a rather chaotic day, with play interrupted several times as fairways flooded over,  but in the end,  I'm quite sure the fans who were there will be rewarded for their patience with lasting memories. I know I have some great ones from that aqueous 2009 U.S. Open.

The action starts up again in about 15 minutes... at 3:00AM here... and there are myriad options for those who wish to watch live, receive updates or cheer on their respective teams and players via social networks and message boards.  I'll see how much I can stay awake for. (this being on the heels of four-and-a-half hours of poker in a smoke-filled salon)

One recounting I refuse to  miss,  is Ben Dirs' blog for BBC Sport, and I particularly enjoy his Match of the Day live blogs.  He's engaging and informative. And fun. The exchanges he has with his readers are often highly amusing.  Yesterday there was this whimsical  bit regarding American golf shouts.

“As if ‘get in the hole’ couldn’t get any worse… the best I’ve heard is also an American shout ‘mashed potato’ straight after a drive. Peculiar to say the least.”  

“Re acceptable shouts, ‘get in the puddle’ or ‘get in the casual water’ could maybe work after a US tee shot?” 

"... you don’t shout 'go in the hole', you drop the 'go' and scream the rest very, very loud.

“I once heard an American scream ’swallow the apple’ just after Faldo hit a drive. Never quite been able to work out what he meant.” 

Other than the requisite ‘Europe, Europe, Europe’ and ‘Go in the hole’ what else are acceptable golf shouts?” 

“As a Europe fan, please, please definitely do not shout 'go in the hole’.  Leave this to our American cousins at all costs!”

We yanks do get a bit obnoxious at times, don't we?

The Crocodile's Toothache by Shel Silverstein

For your viewing pleasure today, I have a video of The Crocodile's Toothache--performed by its author Shel Silverstein.

At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original poem titled Cotton Candy.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Bibliophile this week.